Accomplice Liability

The majority of the cases that we have studied thus far have focused on one defendant's conduct. In reality, most criminal activity involves two or more actors working together toward a criminal end. The law of accomplice liability (also known as "complicity") governs the wide range of cases in which a defendant can be criminally responsible for assisting another, even though the defendant themself did not commit the target crime. Accomplice liability is not a crime.  Instead, it is an alternative path to secure a conviction against a defendant who aided another in committing their crime.

The challenge of determining accomplice liability lies in defining the scope and the extent of liability for one who did not personally commit the relevant crime. In the cases that follow, you’ll see that the law places a heavy emphasis on mens rea, relying on evidence of intent to justify punishing the accomplice for a target offense committed by another. In addition, these cases address the issue of blameworthiness; and they should prompt you to consider (1) when accomplice liability might attach and (2) how far that liability might extend.